Students will have the research skills required to conduct experiments not too large in scale and complexity. They will be able to carry out the scientific research cycle for such experiments. More specifically, students are able to:• define a scientific question/hypothesis• design and conduct a literature study• analyse possible experimental design• set up experimental design• take measurements, keep a journal• analyse, interpret and reflect on measurements• provide sound conclusions based on and justified by obtained results• report in writing• present results and conclusions to peer group, critically question results of others

Omschrijving

The third-year research practical constitutes the transition from the strictly pre-programmed experiment to the real research phase and seamlessly follows the Physics Laboratory 3 course.Students will gain experience in designing and conducting several experiments, differing in applicable methods and techniques. Crucial in the design is that the experimental methods and techniques introduced to them are important in the current research environment.Students will work in pairs. In the Physics Laboratory 4 course they will choose 3 experiments from a pool of experiments (in the Physics Laboratory 3 course they have already chosen 2 more experiments from the same pool). The choice of experiments is in consultation with the coordinating lecturer to ensure breadth and depth. Two of the total of 5 experiments (Physics Laboratory 3 and 4 courses) should be appropriate to the students’ chosen track. Each experiment will require just over a week’s work, including preparation and reporting. The experiments are not really open-ended; however, there will be options for personal input and variation. The test setup will not be fully ready, but the required resources will be available. A high level of independence and initiative will be expected when setting up, journal recording and conducting the experiments. While performing the experiment, the assistant is only available on call.A written report will be produced and assessed for all 3 experiments. One experiment will be presented to an audience of fellow students, lecturer and practical supervisors. Fellow students will critically question this presentation, where a proactive attitude is expected from the students.

Uren per week

Onderwijsvorm

Hoorcollege (LC), Practisch werk (PRC)

Toetsvorm

Presentatie (P), Verslag (R)
(Since this course Physics Laboratory 4 follows after the course Physics Laboratory 3, the assessment level of this course Physics Laboratory 4 is higher. The assessment criteria for a report are applied much more strictly. The marks for the 3 written reports each count for 1/4 of the final mark, the mark for the presentation counts for 1/6 and the mark for the opposition counts for 1/12 of the final mark. The final mark has to be 6.0 or higher (at least 5.0 for each experiment).)

Physics Laboratory 4 follows seamlessly after Physics Laboratory 3. The pool of experiments (for Physics Laboratory 3 and 4) contains four categories and from each category at least one experiment has to be chosen during the combination of the courses Physics Laboratory 3 and 4 (performing both the Annihilation and the Compton experiment is not allowed).